It's the first week of our Cookbook Challenge! The book for this week is a Isa/Terry Free Choice, so pick any book by either author, Vegan Brunch, Appetite for Reduction, V'Con, VWAV, VCIYCJ, VCTOTW, Viva Vegan, etc. If you don't have access to any of the cookbooks, you may also choose an alternate book, just remember to post all your results here.

Choose 3 or more recipes from the selected cookbook of the week and tell us about it! Post pictures, comments or anything else you can think of here. If you choose to switch books around and do this cookbook on a different week, feel free to come back and post in this thread anytime.

i made pasta de los angeles from AFR this morning. with some substitutions, i had all of the ingredients. i used rice noodles instead of whole wheat pasta...bringing down the nutritional value a bit..and i got to use a giant jalapeno from the garden. woohoo!

I thought I'd give Veganomicon some love this week. Haven't used that book nearly enough.

Started today by making the homestyle potato rolls (I think they're called?). But instead of making small rolls, I turned them into 10 burger buns size XXL. Gonna use them for the bbq seitan sandwiches later this week. Haven't tasted them yet, but they both look and smell pretty amazing.

I made steamed white seitan (not a first, but this recipe consistently produces great results so I'll keep making it) with the last of my wheat gluten and then I made Arroz con Seitan for dinner (and future lunches). I'll add the peas later next time as they turned a bit dull (I used frozen), but other than that it was lovely. Both recipes from Viva Vegan!

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 8120Location: United States of New England

im psyched to participate this week. last week i was feeling so crappy and exhausted that i didnt think i was gonna be able to do it but im feeling alot better now.i havent made anything yet but i just got back from the grocery store.

i picked V'Con for this week because ive had it since Xmas and have barely used it. im kind of intimidated by it so i think this will be a perfect way to dive in.

i plan to make some of these:

Portobello salad with spicy mustard dressing

lentils and rice with caramelized onions and spiced pita crisps

broccoli polenta

spaghetti squash mexicana with tropical avocado salsa fresca

im a little scared about that last one since ive never cooked spaghetti squash but we'll see!

I'm doing AFR this week. I started tonight with the Red Wine and Kalamata Tempeh. I threw it over some rotini instead of the suggested caulipots, and sauteed some escarole on the side. It was yummy, and while it was marinating, my whole apartment smelled like wine, herbs, and garlic.

Sorry for the less-than-appealing picture. The lighting was awful. Think of it more as documentary evidence than food porn. Plus, you all get to see my crappy, olive-green, oddly-textured-plastic, '80s kitchen counter.

Other recipes I'm aiming to try this week are the Forty Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli, and the Chili-Lime Rubbed Tofu with a side of Orange Scented Broccoli.

_________________I ate the shiitake out of inappropriateness. - Hollie

This morning I did the VWAV pancakes, not for the first time though. Normally, I'm not very good at making pancakes, no matter if I'm using a store-bought mix or a recipe, and today was no exception--it doesn't seem to matter how long I leave the cakes in the skillet, the inside just won't cook!! So frustrating!!! Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

I'm cooking from AFR this week and tonight I made the miso udon stir fry. I love that it is a complete meal (in my opinion you need a starch, a green, and a protein to have a complete meal) and easy to make. Yum.

Like several others of you, I'm also working from AFR this week. I've had this book checked out from my local library for weeks now and so far have been happy with everything I've tried. I'm definitely going to be purchasing my own copy of this one. Today I made the Caulipots and the Silky Chickpea Gravy for the first time. The caulipots tasted just like the "real" mashed potatoes I've eaten for years. At first taste, I wasn't so sure about the gravy. I tasted it, tasted it again, and then proceeded to taste it several more times before finally dumping it all over my caulipots. It wasn't what I was expecting (actually, I'm not quite sure what I was expecting), but it was good! I can see myself making both of these recipes again.

I'm doing AfR, since I just got it yesterday. I made the Everyday Quinoa Chickpea Salad tonight for lunches for the next few days and had it for dinner.

I used sunflower seeds rather than cashews cause that's what I had. Overall I'd say it was good and the portions are nice and big, but I feel like the dressing could be a little more flavourful. It may improve as it sits over night.

I sort of inadvertently got in on this with tonight's dinner - chickpea cutlets and (sort of) caulipots (plus green salad). I made the chickpea cutlets a TON when Veganomicon first came out but we hadn't had them in forever. It was nice to revisit them! I like to lightly pan fry them and then follow the baking instructions. And I left out the lemon zest tonight because I just wasn't feeling it. For the caulipots, I cooked caribe potatoes, a yam and some cauliflower all together and then mashed them with a little oil, some Penzey's Fox Point seasoning, pepper and fresh chives. Really good!

I'm going to try to pick an Isa recipe I've never made for later in the week.

I wanted to use V'con because I felt like I haven't used it much recently. Flipping through it, I noticed I've made quite a lot of the recipes already so that made me feel good about myself, haha. I tried to pick some recipes that I don't need to buy a lot of ingredients for.

Yesterday I made the lentil salad (hadn't made it before). It's simple but yummy!

I'm cooking from Viva Vegan this week! My copy is well-loved, but there are still a few things I haven't made- and even better, I'll get the opportunity to use a couple of ingredients that I bought in Spain earlier this year that aren't available here.

I started off tonight with the creamy corn-crusted tempeh pot pie. I can't believe I'd never made this before! The corn empanadas are one of my favourite things to cook (and eat), and I never realised that the topping for this pie is almost the same as that empanada filling. So needless to say, I really enjoyed this and will definitely make it again.

I wanted a side that was pretty light but also satisfying, since the individual pies I made were pretty small. I made calabacitas, which was delicious and so easy. All together it made for a great meal!

This morning I did the VWAV pancakes, not for the first time though. Normally, I'm not very good at making pancakes, no matter if I'm using a store-bought mix or a recipe, and today was no exception--it doesn't seem to matter how long I leave the cakes in the skillet, the inside just won't cook!! So frustrating!!! Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Pan too hot or not hot enough? I usually cook mine just above medium, but not quite medium high. Like, you want to hear just a little sizzle when you pour the batter in.

And when you are flipping? There should be lots of bubbles throughout and the edges all the way around should be matte before you flip.

I am doing AFR this week, since I need quick recipes, and low calorie. Also, my omni partner likes almost everything I have made out of this book.

Last night I made the Eggplant Lentil Mole.

It was pretty good...but it was one of those dishes that I did not like right out of the pot, but the more I ate it, the more I liked it! I bet my leftovers today will be really good.

The only change to the recipe was that I added a big splash of red wine vinegar at the end, since I thought it needed some acid, but didn't really think that lime was appropriate. I was right, it did need it and it helped a lot.

If I make it again, I would do the eggplant much smaller than 3/4 inch cubes. less than 1/2 probably. Partner was a bit meh about it, I liked it though, and the whole pot was cost around $3.50. We both thought it needed another veggie in there, and we will put carrots in next time. He wants potatoes in there but I don't know about that.

I like that it was so low in calories (220) that I could eat a 1.5 serving and not feel like I over-did it.

Also doing the tortilla soup and the spinich linguini pesto pasta this week. Everyone raves about these, so I am excited! Extra pesto will go on baked potatoes later in the week as well.

I also decided to do AFR this week. I made the Arabian Lentil & Rice Soup, which is easy and super-yum. The first few times I looked through the book I passed over this recipe because I have my own tried and true lentil soup recipe, but sometimes it's good to try something just SLIGHTLY different, y'know? Behold the results:

I picked V'con for this week's challenge. I thought that there were a fair number of recipes I hadn't made from it, but apparently I was wrong. I did manage to come up with a few recipes that are new to me and will be making:

White Beans with Mushrooms - the casserole variationChickpea Cutlets with Vidalia Onion Sauce - I've made the cutlets many times, but never the sauceSweet Potato Pear Tzimmes - I made this recipe once when I tested for the book and haven't since then, so it's almost new

This morning I did the VWAV pancakes, not for the first time though. Normally, I'm not very good at making pancakes, no matter if I'm using a store-bought mix or a recipe, and today was no exception--it doesn't seem to matter how long I leave the cakes in the skillet, the inside just won't cook!! So frustrating!!! Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Pan too hot or not hot enough? I usually cook mine just above medium, but not quite medium high. Like, you want to hear just a little sizzle when you pour the batter in.

And when you are flipping? There should be lots of bubbles throughout and the edges all the way around should be matte before you flip.

Sorry if this is obvious stuff! Just trying to help.

I'm hearing a sizzle when I drop the batter in the pan, so I think it's hot enough. I knew I was going to have problems with this batch when the bubbles weren't happening--maybe the baking powder is too old? I dunno. I never have this problem with waffles.

I'm doing AFR too, because I need to get my butt back on track with my weight maintenance gig.

I think I finally came up with 3 that will allow me to use up my CSA box things, but I won't be getting started until tomorrow, because the summer squash needed using first, but the Cajun Beanballs & Spaghetti was just way too complicated for me, and I don't have any corn on the cob for the Summer Lovin' stew recipe (which I have made before and was delicious). So tonight I'm cooking from Color Me Vegan...Summer Squash Soup, with French baguette.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 8120Location: United States of New England

i made the lentils and rice with caramelized onions and spiced pita crisps from V'con tonight. i was surprised how easy it was. i kinda thought it was gonna be more involved and was pleasantly surprised. the cooking time is long but the actual doing stuff time is really short.

i tasted the lentil/rice mixture by itself to make sure it was cooked all the way through and it was super bland.

once i put the onions in it it was better but still a tiny bland but the whole thing together eaten with a spiced pita crisp=YUM!

so good.i didnt need to cook the rice/lentils nearly as long as the recipe called for. i think i cooked it for 30 mins and it was already burning to the bottom of the pot.

Tonight's dinner was Ginger Mashed Yams and Apples, the roasted cauliflower and basic baked tofu. The yams were absolutely beautiful. I will make these often. The cauliflower made me happier than I've been in weeks. The tofu isn't my favourite tofu for straight eating but will be excellent in sandwiches.

_________________"I'd rather have dried catshit! I'd rather have astroturf! I'd rather have an igloo!"~Isa

"But really, anyone willing to dangle their baby in front of a crocodile is A-OK in my book."~SSD